9 December 2020
A group of UN human
rights experts have written to the Iranian government warning that past and ongoing
violations related to prison massacres in 1988 may amount to crimes against
humanity and that they will call for an international investigation if these
violations persist, a push for accountability welcomed by Amnesty international
on the eve of International Human Rights Day.
“The UN experts’
communication is a momentous breakthrough. It marks a turning point in the
long-standing struggles of victims’ families and survivors, supported by
Iranian human rights organizations and Amnesty International, to end these
crimes and obtain truth, justice and reparation,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty
International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“Top UN human rights
experts have now sent an unequivocal, and long overdue, message: the ongoing
crimes of mass enforced disappearances resulting from the secret extrajudicial
executions of 1988 can no longer go unaddressed and unpunished”, said Diana
Eltahawy.